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Essay on Women And Poverty
Poverty is ascertained by comparing annual income with the poverty standard, which the federal government created in the 1960’s and revised annually for inflation. In 2002, the poverty standard was $9,183 for an individual, $11,756 for a family of 2, $14,348 for a family of 3, and $18,392 for a family of 4. As ascertained women were over 40% more expected to be poor than men in 2002, with a poverty rate of 12.3% compared to 8.7% for men. Just about one of every eight women was poor, compared to about one of every twelve men. The gender gap was even larger among the aged, with aged women over 60% more expected to be poor than aged men. Despite the fact that the gender poverty gap remains large, it has been decreasing. From 1987 to 1998, the proportion of women’s poverty rate to men’s poverty rate varied between 1.51 and 1.58. The ratio fell to 1.48 in 1999, to 1.47 in 2000, to 1.42 in 2001, and to 1.41 in 2002. Following is the classification of Poverty:
Extreme Poverty
60% of adults who were exceedingly poor -- income less than half the poverty standard -- in 2002 were women. Women were 40% more likely to be extremely poor than men, with an extreme poverty rate of 4.9% compared to 3.5% for men. Around one of every twenty women was extremely poor, compared to about one of every thirty men.
Work Experience
Work away from the home reduced the chances of being poor for both men and women. Nevertheless, women who worked outside the home in 2002 were 36% more likely to be poor than men who worked outside the home, with a poverty rate of 6.8% compared to 5.0% for men. Nearly one of every fifteen workingwomen was poor, compared to about one of every twenty-one workingmen.......
